'The Eternal' - paintings by Naga Tsutsumi - Gilberd Marriott Gallery, extended till 30th July 2016

Naga Tsutsumi 'The Symphony', acrylic on canvas, 110x91cm

THE ETERNAL
A series of paintings by Naga Tsutsumi, showing at Gilberd Marriott Gallery from 17th June to 3rd July, 2016.

This is Naga Tsutsumi's second solo exhibition at Gilberd Marriott Gallery, following 'Ancestor & Descendant' in 2014. There are 11 paintings and 1 large drawing in the exhibition.
 
"Do I miss awe and excitement of placing the needle on the turntable, pushing the REC button on the cassette player, opening the book and turning pages?
 
"I remember in 1987 I felt unsettled when the section of CDs became to occupy close to the half the space of the record shop I was working in. I didn't know how this uneasiness feeling came to me but I kept buying CDs nevertheless, despite this feeling, believing sound quality is more important. I still have more than 200 vinyl albums and 200 CDs even after I got all the MP3 data. The reason I still have CDs is that I cannot sell them for decent prices. The reason I still have vinyl records is that I just don’t feel like getting rid of them.
 
"Digital innovation is always in process, which means we won't be able to get its best forever although it might be the highest in its quality at the time, and this may leave us with a certain level of regret. I regret switching to a digital camera in 1998 as the best pictures from that year are less than 1 megabyte each. Does Nikon feel sorry and feel like compensating for it? Smartphones, tablets, e-books... What am I losing by getting 'high quality' sounds and images, more information, greater accessibility, quick results, greater convenience? 
 
"Analogue devices may make the process of 'doing' a ritual; to listen to a record album or to record your favorite song on a cassette player from the airwaves, you have to go through a process which sometimes seems a nuisance. Also, the smell of vinyl records, smell of printing ink and papers, of book pages, are an essential parts of the ritual.
 
"I paint props, as well as figures, that reflect the time. And I believe those props may carry some sort of aesthetic quality as well as time reference. As a painter, I stick to a medium already established as I guess I am conservative. In this time when new cannot be 'new' I am too afraid to try to be inventive. So I would like to stop time in my fantasy world and go analogue as much as possible in this digitised world."

- Naga Tsutsumi, 2016

Also see this page - Naga Tsutsumi's 'Ancestor & Descendant II' exhibition at GMG, 2014

Video of Naga working on his large 2015 drawing 'Confession'

Naga Tsutsumi, a Japan-born Palmerston North-based artist, had over 30 solo and group exhibitions in NZ, USA and Japan. He has been selected as Overall Winner for Manawatu Arts Review and as one of the finalists for NZ Portrait Gallery's Adam Award in 2011. His works have been selected for the number of international juried exhibitions. He has a strong interest in subtle yet untraditional ways of mixing media and subject matters. He holds Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa, USA.

www.Nagatsutsumi.com

Naga Tsutsumi '46 Minutes', acrylic on canvas, 27x22cm